AIBU to think there is no such thing as a 'British' blonde - yes you Miss Davina MacColl

[CreamolaFoamless]

I've just seen an advert for the new shades in Garnier hair colour and it's left me a bit wtf?

The new shades are the British Blonde range ......how, why , what????

Surely, given the amount of racial tension that has been bubbling in this country (women on train, Steven Lawerence) calling the new collection 'British' blonde is beyond stupid?

Or is it just me ?

How can British blonde hair be different to any other blonde hair?

whats next the 'British' brunette , the 'British' redhead collection

If the jury think I'm not being unreasonable I will make my first complaint to the advertising standards people

"Ok, what about 'Aryan blonde', would that be ok? "

Well that comparison would work if you consider 'British' to mean the same as 'Aryan'. Which it isn't. And afaik British doesn't mean 'Nazi' either.

I think the ad sounds a heap of shite but it isn't racist.

Of course there is a "British blonde". Go to any school with an international mix and check it out!

I agree with Bonsoir, there is a specific type of blonde (and skin tone!) that I associate with the British, in the same way as there is a specific type of blonde that you see more often in Scandinavia; you can't help noticing these things if you come from outside. Of course that doesn't mean that anybody is suggesting that all Brits look, or should look, the same. I know plenty of dark haired Scandinavians who are not in the least offended by the Scandinavian blonde thing.

There's a Swedish school near me and the blonde teenaged Swedish girls at our bus stop have colouring that is nothing like mine and DD's.

Back in the day when I dyed my hair blonde my hair mysteriously changed to a blondey shade, one of the brands had a range called "Scandinavian Blonde". I never thought it was racist.

And yes, you defo get naturally (to an extent) British blondes.

@Twinkymince

No, you don't need to worry about a khaki disaster - these are reasonably rare and easily avoided as long as you don't use a lightish colour with lots of green ash.

You did red then brown, very good, now its fading, you can just choose any brown shade you like the look of. Beware of going to dark though - remember it sort of layers up tone on tone so it will get darker and darker. You might want to try a medium golden brown - the Clairol one is good. You will have nice warm tones then but won't end up cherrish (aka Dot Cotton)!

British Blonde sounds like a breed of cat to me!

Huh? Don't people talk about German Blondes, and Scandinavian Blondes, and Nordic Blondes all the time? On here, even? Why not British Blonde as well?

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack

I had a look at the link below, and there's Havana Brown, Russian Blue, British Shorthair, and British Longhair.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cat_breeds

ScaryJessie - I rest my case :)

There is such a thing as British blonde. I am a British blonde.

It's just that British blonde is not very blonde and is my case now assisted blonde.

HTH

Oh for the love of god, nobody is saying that there is anything wrong with the prefix 'British', just that it shouldn't be used with certain products. It's just bizarre.

Yes, they are, if you read the thread title, OP says: "surely, given the amount of racial tension that has been bubbling in this country (women on train, Steven Lawerence) calling the new collection 'British' blonde is beyond stupid?"

So yes, the debate is about the word British having possibly racist connotations.

Personally, I think it's a massive over reaction.

I want a mouse now.

YouOldSlag, (LOVE the nn BTW ), even the line from the OP which you've quoted doesn't say that there's anything wrong with the prefix British, just that this hair dye should not be called 'British' blonde.

For example, British beef means beef produced in Britain, but would a 'British' shade of foundation be ok?

As someone, I think, mentioned earlier, I googled and got this, The British Blonde Society

How to recognise a Britsih Blonde:

1. dark roots where she couldn't quite reach.

2)Comically mismatched eyebrows, in her natural hair colour. Unsurprising really- who wants to risk bleach in their eyes?!

It's in the name really.....

and i'm british...colour natural until my mid-20's and i started getting it perked up every three/four months with some foils on the top.

Natural blonde hair is dark when it's wet, where dyed or bleached is the same colour when wet.

Have never considered my hair to belong to a country before though?

I'm really glad you posted this topic. YANBU. I think "British Blonde" is a ridiculous expression. I'm a European Blonde (with some help) and when I first saw the ad, both my (British) husband and I just looked at each other and said "that's odd". I didn't feel it's racist - it's just ridiculous, just like somebody posted, totally odd way to use the pre-fix British.
oh, yes, and I won't buy the "British blonde" shade...so whoever thought of it, in order to sell more hair dye, it's weird marketing, alienating a proportion of your customers.

I think 'British Blonde', just means the shade of blonde you are likely to see on naturally blonde British women, as opposed to Scandinavian or Californian ones. It in no way implies (to me) that all British women are blonde or that only blonde women are 'real' Brits. I think the advertisers are just telling you that the shades are maybe a darker blonde than you would see in a country with lots of sun.

well then that's just daft karmabeliever

if someone is dying their hair do you really think they would want it to be a British shade of blonde

I just don't understand who a hair colour can partain to a country

if someone is dying their hair do you really think they would want it to be a British shade of blonde

yes, mine is lovely (even though I'm nearly 51, honest!). But I'm sure whatever Garnier is doing is nothing like proper British Blonde because its a long way from being monotone.

Do them under Trades Descriptions. And show them those be-moo-tiful cows too!

Well, "British Blonde" might be designed to look okay with the colouring on the average caucasian Briton, perhaps?

Whereas "Nordic Blonde" would look too obviously like hair-dye, rather than a natural colour.

If I was going to dye my hair blonde, I'd give the British Blonde packet a second glance, in the hope it would be aimed at a target market containing me. Which is to say, someone whose complexion wouldn't go with Donatella Versace's preferred shade..

See what I mean?

I'd look bloody stupid with hair like that.

British light beige might look okay, though.

are scadivians not causican then theScaryJessie ?

I think you've misread my post there.

The implication isn't that Scandinavians are never Caucasian. The implication is that the stereotypical caucasian Scandinavian looks slightly different (or be perceived to look slightly different) from the stereotypical caucasian Briton. Did you see Bonsoir's posts, or cory's?

If I saw Scandinavian Blonde, I would think of Ulrika Jonsson, feel envious of her beauty, and then dismiss the shade out of hand, because the only things I share with Ulrika are two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a skin colour on the same beige spectrum.

Now, this may sound an utterly inane thought process to you, but the forces of capitalism and the market will reveal how effective their strategy is.